Nuclear milestone reached at Karachi power plant

The
outer safety dome of unit 2 at the Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan was
successfully installed on the containment building.

According to the China National Nuclear
Corporation (CNNC), this milestone, achieved on 17 June, marks the end of the general
construction work on Karachi Unit 2, and will be followed up by containment and
heat tests.

The unit is the first of two Chinese-supplied Hualong One reactors being built at the site.

The steel dome measures approximately 53 metres in diameter and over 23 metres in height, and weighs about 366 tonnes.

The nuclear power plant design

Hualong One uses a double-layer safety
shell design. Together with the inner protective dome, the outer dome protects
the reactor and prevents the release of radioactive materials into the
environment in the event of a serious accident.

"The successful hoisting of the outer
safety dome has marked the end of the main structural project of the nuclear
power plant, which has created favourable conditions for the overall test and
thermal test of the subsequent containment," China National Nuclear Corporation
told WNN.

Karachi 2 and 3 are the first export of China's Hualong One design, with construction of unit 2 beginning in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. Installation of the reactor internals at unit 2 was completed in January this year. The units are scheduled for commercial operation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.